Isis Pharmaceuticals has just received $1 million from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as part of a deal that will help advance its program to develop new drugs for treating the hepatitis B virus (HBV), Benzinga.com reports.

The deal focuses on Isis’s development of a new antisense class of hepatitis B drugs, which could work by effectively clearing HBV antigens entirely from the blood. That’s different than current hep B regimens on the market, which only stem the disease. Experts say the new drug class could allow hepatitis B patients to more fully control their infections and achieve for the first time a sustained remission from the disease.

Isis has already received $11 million from GSK to delve deeper into the liver disease, and this is a continuation of that funding. Experts say that once Isis provides clinical proof that the drugs work, GSK will have the exclusive option to in-license and further develop the medications. Isis will also receive royalties on any product sales GSK makes under the new alliance.

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